The NBA’s first-ever Most Valuable Player has died. Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks icon Bob Pettit died at the age of 93, the Basketball Hall of Fame confirmed. He won the award twice, in the 1955-56 season and then again in 1958-59. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame described him as “a true giant of the game” and “a sleek, skilled big man who revolutionized the forward position during his career.” He was the first player to reach 20,000 points, was named an NBA All-Star in all 11 seasons he played, and won the title with the Hawks in 1958. “He raised the bar for excellence as the league’s first MVP, first 20,000-point scorer and first four-time All-Star Game MVP,” the NBA said. Kobe Bryant is the only other player to match the four-time record. Pettit was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971. No cause of death has been made public. In a statement, his alma mater, Louisiana State University, said that “Pettit defined what the modern power forward should be in the NBA and set standards that have been hard to duplicate in professional basketball.”
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